Smoking Article Pack

ABSTRACT

A smoking article pack has an openable enclosure with a partial vacuum therein. The smoking article also has a support member for smoking articles, the support member being located within the enclosure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a smoking article pack.

BACKGROUND

Packs of cigarettes comprise a wrapped bundle of cigarettes received ina hinged-lid pack. The wrapped bundle of cigarettes has a foil wrapperthat at least partially surrounds a plurality of cigarettes. Once thehinged-lid has been opened, a part of the foil wrapper can be removed togive access to the cigarettes.

SUMMARY

According to the present invention, there is provided a smoking articlepack comprising an openable enclosure having a partial vacuum therein,and a support member for smoking articles, the support member beinglocated within the enclosure.

The smoking article pack may comprise a hinged-lid pack, wherein theenclosure is located in the hinged-lid pack.

The enclosure may comprise a barrier material. The barrier material maycomprise a laminate material. The barrier material may comprise apolymer material and a metallic material.

The enclosure may comprise one or more seals. The one or more seals maycomprise fin seals.

The support member may at least partially surround smoking articles onat least 3 sides. Alternatively, the support member may at leastpartially surround smoking articles on at least 5 sides.

The support member may comprise a box to receive smoking articles. Thebox may at least partially surround smoking articles on six sides. Thebox may comprise an opening.

The enclosure may comprise an openable access aperture that is alignedwith an opening in the support member. The openable access aperture maybe re-closable.

The support member may comprise a card material.

Smoking articles may be located within the enclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a smoking article pack;

FIG. 2 shows a support sleeve;

FIG. 3 shows a first example of a process for forming a wrapped bundle;

FIG. 4 shows a second example of a process for forming a wrapped bundle;and,

FIG. 5 shows a wrapped bundle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a pack of smoking articles 1 that has a hinged-lid pack 2and a wrapped bundle 3 of smoking articles. The hinged-lid pack 2 has abody 4 and a lid 5 that is hingedly attached to the body 4 about a hinge6. The wrapped bundle 3 is received within the hinged-lid pack 2 and thelid 5 can be rotated about the hinge 6 to expose an end part of thewrapped bundle 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wrapped bundle 3 has an access aperture 7 formedat the end of the wrapped bundle 3, which is exposed when the lid 5 isopened. The access aperture 7 is covered by a label 8 which can beopened by pulling on a tab 9, which peels the label 8 back to expose theaccess aperture 7 and give access to smoking articles within the wrappedbundle 3.

The access aperture 7 extends across an end 10 and partially into afront wall 11 of the wrapped bundle 3. When the access aperture 7 isopen, the ends of some of the smoking articles are accessible and can begrasped for removing them from the pack 1.

The wrapped bundle 3 is made from a barrier material which is sealedaround the smoking articles to form an enclosure. This enclosure issealed from the outside atmosphere prior to the label 8 being opened forthe first time.

In some examples, the label 8 is formed from the barrier material of thewrapped bundle 3. The barrier material may comprise two or more layersof material, for example a laminate material. One of these layers mayoverlap around the edges of the label 8 and be adhered to the barriermaterial, to create a sealed label. Peeling the label 8 back will breakthis adhesive and expose the access aperture 7.

Alternatively or additionally, the label 8 is at least partiallyattached to the edges of the access aperture 7, so that opening thelabel 8 tears a part of the barrier material to create the accessaperture 7. In this case, the label 8 can be formed by at leastpartially cutting the barrier material prior to wrapping the barriermaterial around the smoking articles.

In another example, the label 8 is separate and is attached to thewrapped bundle 3 such that it covers the access aperture 7. For example,the label 8 may be adhered to the barrier material around the accessaperture 7.

Once the label 8 is opened it may be retained on the wrapped bundle 3.For example, the back edge (not shown) of the label 8 may remainattached to the wrapped bundle 3 after opening. In an alternativeexample, the label 8 may be detached from the wrapped bundle 3 onopening.

The label 8 may be re-closable, so that the label 8 can be repositionedover the access aperture 7 after first opening. Therefore, the label 8may have a reusable adhesive that can be reattached to the barriermaterial after the label 8 has been opened for the first time.

Within the wrapped bundle 3, smoking articles are arranged in rows sothat on opening the access aperture 7 the ends of the smoking articlescan be grasped for removal from the wrapped bundle 3 and the pack 1.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a partial vacuum isprovided within the enclosure formed in the wrapped bundle 3 to helppreserve the flavour and freshness of the smoking articles. The partialvacuum can be created by evacuating at least some of the air from theenclosure. This partial vacuum may be provided by performing at leastpart of the pack assembly in a low-pressure environment.

The wrapped bundle 3 is sufficiently sealed to allow low pressure to bemaintained in enclosure within the wrapped bundle 3 until the wrappedbundle 3 is opened. Preferably, the barrier material of the wrappedbundle 3 is impermeable to air. The enclosure within the wrapped bundle3 may be hermetically sealed.

The barrier material of the wrapped bundle 3 is made from agas-impermeable material. The material may be impermeable to oxygen toprevent ingress of oxygen into the wrapped bundle 3. Also, agas-impermeable material will prevent movement of moisture through thebarrier material, so the moisture content within the wrapped bundle 3remains the same and is not affected by external conditions.

In one example, the barrier material comprises a laminate materialhaving a polymer, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, arranged asouter layers of the laminate material and a metallic foil, for exampletin foil, aluminium or any other metallised coating, arranged as theinner layer of the laminate material, between two polymer layers.

In other examples, the barrier material may comprise a cellulose filmand/or a polylactide (polylactic acid) material, which can be coated orlaminated to improve the barrier and/or heat sealing properties of thematerial.

The seal between the barrier material and the label 8 is sufficient toprevent ingress of air through the seal into the enclosure within thewrapped bundle 3 prior to the label 8 being opened for the first time.

The barrier material is wrapped around a group of smoking articles sothat the smoking articles are received in an enclosure formed by thebarrier material. For example, twenty smoking articles can be arrangedin three rows so that the cross-section of the group of smoking articlesis approximately rectangular and the wrapped bundle 3 can be received ina substantially cuboid hinged-lid pack 2. However, it will beappreciated that the wrapped bundle 3 may have a different number ofsmoking articles and the smoking articles may have a differentarrangement.

A support sleeve is provided around the group of smoking articles withinthe enclosure formed by the barrier material of the wrapped bundle 3.The support sleeve at least partially surrounds the smoking articles toprevent the smoking articles from becoming compressed, crushed ordeformed when air is evacuated from the enclosure within the wrappedbundle 3.

When a partial vacuum is created in the enclosure of the wrapped bundle3, the support sleeve resists the inward force acting on the barriermaterial and protects the smoking articles.

FIG. 2 shows one example of the support sleeve 12. In this example, thesupport sleeve 12 is a box with a substantially cuboid shape. Smokingarticles are received in the box of the support sleeve 12 and so thegroup of smoking articles is at least partially surrounded on all sides.

The support sleeve 12 has five substantially complete sides: a frontside 13; a rear side 14; two opposing sides 15, 16; and, a bottom side17. The support sleeve 12 also has a top side 18 that extends partiallyacross the top of the smoking articles.

As shown, an opening 19 is provided in the support sleeve 12 and thisopening 19 extends across the top side 18 and partially into the frontside 13 of the support sleeve 12. This opening 19 is aligned with theaccess aperture (7, see FIG. 1) of the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1).Therefore, when the label (8, see FIG. 1) is peeled back the accessaperture (7, see FIG. 1) and opening 19 are revealed, providing accessto the smoking articles.

The top side 18 of the support sleeve 12 shown in FIG. 2 comprises flaps18 a, 18 b that are disposed either side of the opening 19. These flaps18 a, 18 b extend partially across the top side 18 of the support sleeve12 and help to protect the smoking articles from any compression causedby the inward force acting on the barrier material when air is evacuatedfrom the enclosure of the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1) to provide apartial vacuum therein.

In another example, the support sleeve 12 may comprise a five sided box,which surrounds the group of smoking articles on five sides. Forexample, the support sleeve may have a front side, a rear side, twoopposing sides and a bottom side, as per the example shown in FIG. 2.However, in this example, the support sleeve does not comprise flaps onthe top side, which is open.

In an alternative example, the support sleeve 12 has three sides whichsurround the group of smoking articles on at least three sides. Forexample, the support sleeve may have a front side, which extends acrossthe front of the group of smoking articles, and two opposing sides, thatextend across the sides of the group of smoking articles. This ‘U’shaped support sleeve provides rigidity to protect the smoking articlesagainst the compression force caused by evacuating air from theenclosure within the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1) to provide a partialvacuum therein.

In yet another example, any of the support sleeves 12 described abovemay also have a strut wall that extends across the enclosure within thewrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1). For example, the strut wall may extendbetween opposing sides of the support sleeve 12. Referring to theexample support sleeve 12 shown in FIG. 2, a strut wall may extend fromthe inside of the front side 13 to the rear side 14 of the supportsleeve 12, dividing the space within the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1).The strut wall will provide additional rigidity to resist thecompressive force. If the support sleeve 12 includes a strut wall, thensmoking articles can be arranged in two groups, one either side of thestrut wall. Other embodiments may include multiple strut walls, in whichcase the smoking articles can be arranged in two or more groups as perthe configuration of the strut walls.

The support sleeve 12 is made from a rigid or semi-rigid material thathas sufficient strength to resist the compressive force acting inwardlyon the enclosure when air is evacuated from the enclosure within thewrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1) to provide a partial vacuum therein. Forexample, the support sleeve 12 may comprise card, multiple layers ofcard, plastics, or other suitable material. The material of the supportsleeve 12 may be card of between 150 grams per square meter and 300grams per square meter. The card may be coated or laminated, for examplewith a polymer, or tin or aluminium foil. The laminate will providebarrier properties and prevent the card from absorbing substances thatmay be present within the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1).

During manufacture of the packs of smoking articles 1, a blank of thesupport sleeve 12 is folded around the group of smoking articles.Alternatively, the support sleeve 12 may be partially formed and thegroup of smoking articles can be pushed into the partially formedsupport sleeve 12.

In some examples, the blank of the support sleeve 12 may include flapsthat are adhered to adjacent sides of the support sleeve 12, so that thesupport sleeve 12 retains its shape. The adhered flaps will increase thestructural rigidity of the support sleeve 12.

The barrier material is then wrapped around the support sleeve 12 andthe group of smoking articles, and the ends and edges of the barriermaterial are sealed to form the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1).

The wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1) is then received in the hinged-lidpack (2, see FIG. 1). The hinged-lid pack (2, see FIG. 1) may be foldedaround the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1), or the wrapped bundle (3, seeFIG. 1) may be pushed into a partially formed hinged-lid pack (2, seeFIG. 1).

FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of how the barrier material 21 may bewrapped around the group of smoking articles 20 and support sleeve 12 toform the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 3, a group of smoking articles 20 is combined with asupport sleeve 12, and this combination is in turn wrapped in a barriermaterial 21. The support sleeve 12 and smoking articles 20 may becombined by wrapping the support sleeve 12 at least partially around thegroup of smoking articles 20, depending on the construction of thesupport sleeve 12. Alternatively, the smoking articles 20 can be pushedinto a partially formed support sleeve 12.

The barrier material 21 is wrapped around the support sleeve 12 and finseals 22 are formed to hold the barrier material 21 in place and providean air-tight seal. In this way, the support sleeve 12 and the group ofsmoking articles 20 are located in an enclosure formed by the barriermaterial 21. The air-tight fin seals 22 allow a reduced pressure to becreated in the enclosure within the wrapped bundle (3, see FIGS. 1) andtherefore allows a partial vacuum to be maintained until the wrappedbundle (3, see FIG. 1) is opened.

In order to provide a partial vacuum within the enclosure defined by thebarrier material 21, at least the final fin seal 22 may be formed whilethe group of smoking articles 20 is exposed to a low pressureenvironment, to cause evacuation of air from within the enclosure. Forexample, the final fin sealing operation could be performed in areduced-pressure environment.

The barrier material 21 may have a pre-formed access aperture 7 andlabel 8, as described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and4, the barrier material 21 is wrapped around the support sleeve 12 andsmoking articles 20 such that the access aperture 7 is aligned with theopening 19 in the support sleeve 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the barrier material 21 can be wrapped aroundthe support sleeve 12 and a first fin seal 22 a can be formed betweentwo ends of the barrier material 21.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first fin seal 22 a is formed in aposition adjacent to the rear side 14 of the support sleeve 12. Afterthis first fin seal 22 a has been made the barrier material 21 isessentially arranged as a tube around the support sleeve 12 and smokingarticles 20.

In an alternative example, shown in FIG. 4, the barrier material 21 canbe wrapped around the support sleeve 12 and smoking articles 20 to forma tube and the first fin seal 22 a is formed adjacent to the bottom side17 of the support sleeve 12, opposite to the access aperture 7 and label8.

In the examples shown in both FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 the first fin seal 22 ais formed in a position which is spaced from the opening 19 of thesupport sleeve 12 and therefore spaced from the access aperture 7 andlabel 8, so that the operation of the label 8 to open the accessaperture 7 is not affected by the first fin seal 22 a.

When the barrier material 21 has been wrapped around the support sleeve12 and a group of smoking articles 20 to form a tube, as shown in FIGS.3 and 4, the ends of the tube of barrier material 21 are sealed togetherto form a sealed wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1) having an enclosure inwhich the smoking articles 20 and support sleeve 12 are received. Theends of the tube of barrier material 21 are also fin sealed.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show, in dotted lines, the extent of the support sleeve 12within the tube of barrier material 21 once the first fin seal 22 a hasbeen formed. As shown, the tube of barrier material 21 is longer thanthe width of the support sleeve 12, and so the barrier material 21extends past the sides of the support sleeve 12. The overhanging ends ofthe barrier material 21 are fin sealed to create the sealed wrappedbundle (3, see FIG. 1).

FIG. 5 shows the fin seals (22 b, 22 c) that are formed on the opposingsides of the wrapped bundle 3. As shown, the first fin seal 22 a isfolded against the support sleeve 12 and extends through each of theside fin seals 22 b, 22 c of the wrapped bundle 3. The side fin seals 22b, 22 c can be folded against the opposing sides of the wrapped bundle 3so that the wrapped bundle 3 can be tightly received in the hinged-lidpack (2, see FIG. 1), as previously described.

FIG. 5 shows the first fin seal 22 a formed adjacent to the rear side ofthe support sleeve. However, it will be appreciated that the first finseal 22 a may alternatively be formed adjacent to the bottom side of thesupport sleeve, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, or in anyother position in which the first fin seal 22 a is spaced from theaccess aperture 7 and label 8.

The fin seals 22 a, 22 b, 22 c can be made by attaching opposingportions of the barrier material 21 together. That is, as shown in FIGS.3 and 4, the ends of the barrier material 21 are arranged so that theyare directed in the same direction and are overlapping. The portions ofbarrier material 21 are then attached to each other using heat,adhesive, ultrasonic weld, or other means of attaching the barriermaterial together. The barrier material 21 may include a thermoplasticmaterial or other means of adhesive that can be activated by, forexample, heat and/or pressure.

In alternative examples, the sealed wrapped bundle 3 is formed using aprocess other than the fin seals 22 a, 22 b, 22 c described withreference to FIGS. 3 to 5. For example, the barrier material 21 could besealed by folding the ends against the sides of the support sleeve 12and pressing them to create a seal. This may involve adhesive, heat,ultrasonic welds or other means of attaching the folded flaps of barriermaterial 21 together. In this case, the rigidity of the support sleeve12 will reduce the likelihood of damaging the smoking articles whileforming the seals.

As explained earlier, air is evacuated from the enclosure within thewrapped bundle 3 to form a partial vacuum therein. This may be performedby exposing the partially wrapped bundle 3 to a reduced-pressureenvironment prior to forming the final fin seal 22. It will also beappreciated that varying degrees of air may be evacuated from theenclosure within the wrapped bundle 3, but that the pressure within thewrapped bundle 3 will be reduced. It will also be appreciated that notonly air may be evacuated from the enclosure within the wrapped bundle3, and any gas that is present at that time can be evacuated.

In various examples, the partial vacuum within the enclosure of thewrapped bundle 3 has a pressure of less than 1 bar.

In some examples, the partial vacuum within the enclosure of the wrappedbundle 3 is less than 500 millibar, for example between 40 and 300millibar. In other embodiments, the partial vacuum within the enclosureof the wrapped bundle 3 is less than 150 millibar, preferably about 80millibar. However, it will be appreciated that the partial vacuum withinthe enclosure of the wrapped bundle 3 may be any value less than 1 bar.

As used herein, the term “smoking article” includes smokeable productssuch as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos whether based on tobacco,tobacco derivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco or tobaccosubstitutes and also heat-not-burn products. The smoking article may beprovided with a filter for the gaseous flow drawn by the smoker.

As used herein, the term “partial vacuum” means that pressure has beenreduced by removing at least a part of the gas from within a space, forexample the enclosure within the wrapped bundle (3, see FIG. 1).

In order to address various issues and advance the art, the entirety ofthis disclosure shows by way of illustration various embodiments inwhich the claimed invention(s) may be practiced and provide for superiorsmoking article pack. The advantages and features of the disclosure areof a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustiveand/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in understanding andteach the claimed features. It is to be understood that advantages,embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or otheraspects of the disclosure are not to be considered limitations on thedisclosure as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to theclaims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications maybe made without departing from the scope and/or spirit of thedisclosure. Various embodiments may suitably comprise, consist of, orconsist essentially of, various combinations of the disclosed elements,components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. In addition, thedisclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed, but whichmay be claimed in future.

1. A smoking article pack comprising an openable enclosure having apartial vacuum therein, and a support member for smoking articles, thesupport member being located within the enclosure and the support membercomprising a box to receive smoking articles, and wherein the box atleast partially surrounds smoking articles on six sides to protect thesmoking articles against crushing caused by the partial vacuum.
 2. Thesmoking article pack of claim 1, comprising a hinged-lid pack, whereinthe enclosure is located in the hinged-lid pack.
 3. The smoking articlepack of claim 1 wherein the enclosure comprises a barrier material. 4.The smoking article pack of claim 3, wherein the barrier materialcomprises a laminate material.
 5. The smoking article pack of claim 3,wherein the barrier material comprises a polymer material and a metallicmaterial.
 6. The smoking article pack of claim 1 wherein the enclosurecomprises one or more seals.
 7. The smoking article pack of claim 6,wherein the one or more seals comprise fin seals.
 8. The smoking articlepack of claim 1 wherein the box comprises an opening.
 9. The smokingarticle pack of claim 1 wherein the enclosure comprises an openableaccess aperture that is aligned with an opening in the support member.10. The smoking article pack of claim 9, wherein the openable accessaperture is re-closable.
 11. The smoking article pack of claim 1,wherein the support member comprises a card material.
 12. The smokingarticle pack of claim 1, wherein smoking articles are located within theenclosure.